Beloit

City of Beloit, Wisconsin
Beloit Water Tower, constructed in 1889.
Flag
Nickname(s): Gateway To Wisconsin or "Bel-Wah"
Location of Beloit in Wisconsin
Coordinates: 42°30′30″N 89°01′54″W / 42.50833°N 89.03167°W / 42.50833; -89.03167
Country	United States
State	Wisconsin
County	Rock
Founded	1836
Incorporated	February 24, 1846 (village) March 31, 1856 (city)
Government
- Manager	Larry Arft
- City Attorney	Tom Casper
- City Council	James Van De Bogart (President) Kevin Leavy (Vice President) Sheila De Forest Martin Densch Charles Haynes Heidi Johns Eric Newnham area_total_sq_mi =16.7
Area
- Land	16.4 sq mi (42.6 km2)
- Water	0.2 sq mi (0.6 km2)
Elevation	751 ft (228.9 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	35,775
- Density	2,176.6/sq mi (840.2/km2)
Time zone	CST (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
Website	www.ci.beloit.wi.us

Beloit is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2000 census, Beloit had a population of 35,775.^[1] Its 2007 estimated census was 37,710.^{[citation needed]} Beloit is the home of Beloit College. It is also home to a Hormel plant, a Frito Lay plant, the world's largest can of chili,^[2] and the Beloit Snappers baseball club of the Midwest League. Beloit lays claim to such inventions as the speedometer,^[3]Korn Kurls,^[4] and John Francis Appleby's twine binder.^[5] Korn Kurls, which resemble present day Cheetos, are credited for the founding of the snack food industry.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 16.7 square miles (43.2 km²), of which, 16.4 square miles (42.6 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.6 km²) of it is water. The total area is 1.38% water. Location: 42°30′30″N 89°01′54″W / 42.50833°N 89.03167°W / 42.50833; -89.03167.

The city is located adjacent to the Town of Beloit, Town of Turtle, and the Illinois municipality of South Beloit. There is very little agricultural land remaining between Beloit and Janesville or between Beloit and Rockford, Illinois.

Most of Beloit's development is occurring on the east side, adjacent to Interstates 39/90 and Interstate 43, where the city annexed rural land for the extensive Beloit Gateway Industrial Park, as well as in the newly revitalized downtown located along the Rock River.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there are 35,775 people, 13,370 households, and 8,904 families residing in the city. The population density is 840.2/km² (2,176.6/sq mi). There are 14,262 housing units at an average density of 335.0 persons/km² (867.7 persons/sq mi). The racial makeup of the city is 75.57% White, 15.37% African American, 0.38% Native American, 1.16% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 4.62% from other races, and 2.85% from two or more races. 9.10% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 13,370 households out of which 34.0% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.5% are married couples living together, 16.6% have a woman whose husband does not live with her, and 33.4% are non-families. 27.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 11.3% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.57 and the average family size is 3.10.

In the city the population is spread out with 27.7% under the age of 18, 11.5% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.0% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 33 years. For every 100 females there are 92.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 87.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $36,414, and the median income for a family is $42,083. Males have a median income of $32,870 versus $23,925 for females. The per capita income for the city is $16,912. 12.5% of the population and 9.6% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 16.4% are under the age of 18 and 6.3% are 65 or older.

Recreation and development

Beloiters enjoy a large variety of recreational activities, in part because of the city's uncommon diversity. Beloit is home to a professional minor league baseball team, the Beloit Snappers, as well as a lively riverfront popular to many city dwellers. The downtown, home to many small shops and boutiques has seen a recent renewal. Up-scale downtown condominiums are now visible, with the additions of such venues as Heritage View and the Beloit Inn. Opportunity and easy access to other communities have led to a spurt of growth in the area, some calling it a renaissance of sorts.

Culture

• Beloit Janesville Symphony
• Beloit Civic Theatre
• Wright Museum of Art

Recognition

• Beloit is the only city in the state of Wisconsin to be home to 3 multi-billion dollar international companies.
  • ABC Supply Company
  • Regal-Beloit
  • Kerry Ingredients^{[citation needed]}

• In 2007, America in Bloom, a national competition between cities declared Beloit as "the best-kept secret of the midwest."
• In September, America in Bloom named Beloit the overall winner in its population class, Beloit also received top honors for any sized city in the category of landscaping.
• Anthropologist Margaret Mead described Beloit as "America in microcosm."
• Beloit has been a Tree City for the past 22 years, earning its place as one of the longest running tree cities in the state, and nation.

Festivals

Beloit's main festivals include:

• Beloit Riverfest "Largest Rock Festival of the Midwest"
• Beloit International Film Festival
• Winterfest
• Festivals at Harry's Place
• Music at Harry's Place
• Movies at Harry's Place
• ArtWalk
• Hollidazzle
• Hog Hula
• Christmas Lights Parade and Festival
• Thunder on the Rock
• Pops on the Rock-4th of July Festival
• Gospel in the Park
• Celebrate! & Grand Prix Race
• Beloit Farmers Market
• Southern Wisconsin AirFest
• Beloit Heritage Days
• Beloit Autorama

Businesses/Organizations

Beloit's Major Industry

• ABC Supply Company†
• Fairbanks-Morse
• Patch Products†
• Regal-Beloit†
• Alcoa Wheel Products
• Frito Lay
• Kerry Ingredients & Flavours Americas (A Kerry Group Division)
• Genecor International Wisconsin, Inc. (A Danisco Division)
• Broaster Company†
• Hormel
• Metso
• Kettle Foods
• Staples, Inc. Online Fulfillment Center

A † indicates Beloit is home to the company's World Headquarters.

Education

• Beloit College, a liberal arts college with undergraduate enrollment around 1,300. The campus is notable for numerous prehistoric Indian mounds.
  

  

  Beloit College, Prehistoric indian mounds along with the Middle College
• Blackhawk Technical College, which has its main campus between Beloit and Janesville, has an adult education center in downtown Beloit.
• Beloit Memorial High School is the city's public high school. The school is part of the School District of Beloit.
• School District of Beloit-Turner is a small K-12 district of 1,300 students and is a part of the Township
• The Roy Chapman Andrews Academy, part of the School District of Beloit, is Beloit's "project based" charter high school located at the Eclipse Center.

Notable people

• Roy Chapman Andrews, adventurer and naturalist
• Clinton Babbitt, U.S. Representative
• Jim Caldwell, head coach of the Indianapolis Colts
• Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin, geologist
• Franklin Clarke, professional football player for the Dallas Cowboys (1960-1967) and the Cleveland Browns (1957-1959)
• Betty Everett, rock and jazz singer ("The Shoop Shoop Song")
• Danny Gokey, American Idol contestant, choir director at a Beloit church
• Bill Hanzlik, NBA player and coach
• Jonathan Harr, journalist and author of (A Civil Action)
• Ken Hendricks, founder of ABC Supply, listed on the Forbes 400
• Gary Johnson, elected majority leader of the Wisconsin Assembly in 1980 and 1983^{[citation needed]}
• Jerry Kenney, major league baseball player for the New York Yankees (1967, 1969-1972) and the Cleveland Indians (1973)
• Eugene Lee, Tony Award-winning set designer, {Wicked, Saturday Night Live)
• Danica Patrick, Indy car driver, born in Beloit
• Judy Robson, former majority leader, Wisconsin Senate
• Arthur Pratt Warner, aviator and inventor
• Kyle Weaver, professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder
• Robin Zander, musician (Cheap Trick)

Historic buildings

• Beloit's Famous Water Tower Place went under demolition in 1935, but was halted shortly after because of the sheer cost of tearing down the tower.

Fairbanks-Morse complex

New Construction Heritage View.jpg Construction along riverfront, downtown Beloit

References

External links

• Official website
• Greater Beloit Chamber of Commerce
• Downtown Beloit Association
• Beloit's Convention and Visitor Center
• Beloit as an Ecosystem, an exploration of the land, water, and society of Beloit
• Beloit Public Library Be sure the check out the Beloit Area link in the top menu bar.
• Beloit Historical Society
• City-Data Beloit Wisconsin Webpage Data on the City of Beloit aggregated by City-data.
• Beloit Neighborhood Preservation Assn. Historic districts and surrounding neighborhoods homeowners assn.
• Yahoo City of Beloit Club Search Unofficial Beloit and Stateline area search portal

v • d • e Janesville, Wisconsin Surrounding communities (over 10,000) Beloit° (under 10,000) Edgerton° | Fulton* | Harmony* | La Prairie* | Milton° | Rock* | Janesville* | Milton* | S. Beloit, IL° | Beloit* | Turtle* Counties Rock County *town °city

v • d • e Municipalities and communities of Rock County, Wisconsin County seat: Janesville Cities Beloit | Brodhead | Edgerton | Evansville | Janesville | Milton Villages Clinton | Footville | Orfordville Towns Avon | Beloit | Bradford | Center | Clinton | Fulton | Harmony | Janesville | Johnstown | La Prairie | Lima | Magnolia | Milton | Newark | Plymouth | Porter | Rock | Spring Valley | Turtle | Union Unincorporated communities Afton | Avalon | Crestview | Emerald Grove | Shopiere

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Coordinates: 42°30′30″N 89°01′54″W / 42.50833°N 89.03167°W / 42.50833; -89.03167